I’m throwing as a lefty. I can’t not knit for 4 more weeks. I can’t do it. Sooooo… I’d say 10 years of piano lessons is paying off. As a teenager, I taught myself to write left handed. I’m not really sure why, but it seemed like a good idea. Maybe it was the geeky coolness factor. Piano lessons definitely played a part. All that training on teaching my left hand to think independently seemed like a superfluous thing, but it wasn’t.
If you’re a knitter, you might know that ‘throwing’ and ‘picking’ are labels for English vs. Continental styles of knitting. Throwers hold their yarn in the right hand, and use the fingers to wrap the yarn around the needle. Pickers hold the yarn in their left hand and pick the yarn up with the needle. I’d never heard of those terms, until someone asked me if I was a picker or a thrower. Me, clueless, doesn’t happen often. I had to look it up.
Both ‘picking’ and ‘throwing’ require right wrist motion. I also seem to have a problem convincing the yarn to comply with my needles’ request. I discovered that I can still throw with my left hand. I’m working on my gauge, but after a few attempts, I think I have it down. It’s still a bit slow going, but if I ever need to teach a lefty, I have more experience. It might even help with double stranded color work. I must admit, I was rather jealous when someone posted a video holding a yarn on each hand, knitting beautifully. I tried. I couldn’t do it.
My mother told me to start reading again, to kill the antsy crawling up my fingers. I quit reading books a little more than a year ago. I had been reading a book a day. 350-500 pages, is nothing to me. The books are started and done.
Alas, I gave my Nook to my oldest when I sent him to her. Now, knowing that he is her favorite first grandson, much like my daddy was his mother’s favorite second son, my mom wants him to be able to keep his Nook. She’s sending me her old Kindle, to help avert major disaster. After several months, he wouldn’t want to give it up. It’s quite funny, really, how we both spoil this child!
Of course, I will have to work on a few things. I used to Nook and knit. I do watch the TV and knit, but I usually prefer books, as they provide a more in-depth view of a story. Working left handed and reading would be a challenge. The idea, though, is to not knit.
There’s just one problem with all of this. Knitting can be set down, the television turned off, but a book has page after page. I can’t put them down. Not until the end. I will have to cross that bridge, and it won’t be easy. I’m an addict, and I know it.
It’s going to be a long 4 weeks.
Garage Knit Studio 